Pattaya for the first timer

[Mogster]

Hello guys!

Now first of all I have browsed all the threads in here but still have unanswered questions. If I ask something stupid I apologise in advance.

I am planning to go to Pattaya for a 2 week break in June. Obviously to make the most of this trip I want to make sure I plan it well and not end up having a horrible time (assuming that is possible in Thailand ). As a bit of a background I am a 25 year old from the UK and I will be travelling alone. The majority of my friends are not into the whole screwing working girls thing and although I have one mate who is into it, I wouldnt trust going abroad with him (because he also enjoys fights and drugs and is not the cleverest man in the world! I dont want to end up in a Thai prison because of him. ).

So I am going alone which doesnt really bother me (no fighting with friends over who gets the prettiest girl ) but means of course if I screw up, I have no backup!!

My plans so far are to fly out with Thai Air (cheap and a direct flight to Bangkok!) and I am looking at staying at the Sabai Inn (again cheap and looks decent from the website). I am thinking of taking between £800-£1000 (US$1500-US$1900) in spending money (i.e for girls, food, drink, gifts, taxis/buses, etc).

So far is this a good plan? Is the Sabai Inn a girl-friendly hotel or are they likely to make trouble if I bring girls back? Is the Sabai Inn near the "action"? Whats it like as a hotel (i.e is it clean, quiet, has a decent safe in the room, etc)? Am I taking the right amount of cash or could I get away with less? Whats the weather likely to be like in June?

I have about a million questions but will leave them there for now! Any tips for a young Brit abroad alone in Pattaya would be appreciated though!

Cheers!

[yoff6312]

Smart man that leaves his friends whom might like to fight and or take drugs at Home

I would suggest that there is very little chance you will screw up... Well you could if the lady gets on top hahahaha

The money sounds about spot on for everything you may need.
About 4000 baht a day should see you be able to achieve all your imagination has run wild with previously.
Take care of your accompaning MEMBER though.

Dont pay the BG's too much either, If you feel that they are worth more than 1000bht LT then so be it, Just let them know that any more than the 1000bht is a tip

As for the Sabai Inn, sorry I cannot help you as I have never stayed there.
It is close enough to the action as you can also sneak up to Naklua and check out the girls there. It is close enough to soi 2 and 3 group of bars as to be able to walk...Bloody long way to Walking St though.

Have fun and enjoy

Yoff

ps I will also be in Pattaya strating June14th, Maybe a chance to have a beer.

[LittleBigMan]

Good idea, leave your buddy behind. Nothing worse than having a friend drag you down. I myself like to travel alone than have to constantly watch them and having to ask them what you want to do now?

Sabai Inn, is located in Central Pattaya on Soi, 2. There is a North and South, each area has their Soi No's. The Hotel is located just off 2rd Rd. and can easily be accessible to the North or South by Taxi. These are those little blue pickup trucks with seats in the back and everyone just jumps on and ring the little bell when you want to get off! To get to the North or South I just pay 10 baht.

Central Pattaya is my favorite area to stay because it is near the Big C shopping center. There are also bars throughout this area along when the Sabai Land and Sabai Dee Body Massage near your Hotel. In my opinion you are only 25 yrs old and if you like to walk and you are curious just Walk!
To get to South Pattaya and Walking St. walk down from your Hotel to Beach Rd, and get a taxi.

Take things slow and don't overpay! Once you get to know them let them know what kind of sex you want and how you like it. That way they know what is expected of them and there's no surprises. But remember don't get mad everyone pays their dues!

Since it's your first time just hire a car from the airport to Pattaya, outside of immigration near the money exchange you will see booths for car for hire!
Let them know you want a car with good Air Con, in my theory if they can't spend money to recharge the air-con then the car is not much better!
The charge should be around 1500 Baht and once you are in Pattaya you should be able to get a car in return for 1000 baht.

Take it slow and enjoy!
LBM

[Capt JB]

Sabai Inn is located on the other end of Pattaya from the famous Walking Street but in all honesty there is action on every street in Pattaya. You can always catch the Baht bus down Beach Rd. to Walking St.

I have never stayed at that hotel but I understand it's not a bad value for the money. If it dosen,t meet your expectations just move to another hotel the next day.

[rits01]

100 $ a day should suffice, provided your main hangouts / watering holes are BB / FL and not GG / soapies.

It doesn't mean GG are off limits for that budget, you can hit them , drink and BF every now and then - but your focus should be elsewhere. It shouldn't be a problem - speaking for myself, I prefer the BB scene anyway - not only because for the money.

700 -1000 will get you a nice hotel (you can find cheaper places);

1200- 1500 LT BB company (inclusive of BF)

300 - 600 for basic food - including buying meals for the ladies, and an occasional visit to nicer restaurants;

drinks (including lady drinks) - the sky is the limit. I suggest to pay some attention here and not to get carried away, or you can find yourself ringing bells and buying rounds of LD, and spending 2500 a nite easily. 600 - 800 should suffice for a reasonable barhop, including a few LD.

as an alternative for a barhop, I would strongly suggest letting the ladies take you, once in a while, to places that cater to Thais (restaurants, Karaoke, disco etc) - better value, nice experience, both you and the ladies will enjoy more. take a girl or 3 to nice evening in a local restaurant with live music (like "kampan") + a bottle of local whiskey and few cokes in a karaoke - 800 -1000 bht.

you can also skip the barhop and hit a soapie or a GG instead, or go to a non- carnal massage, or take a trip to the zoo, or rent a bike or a jeep and go (with/ without the lady) for a day trip somewhere - all still within your budget.

Now, if you hit the GG instead of BB you will have to add some 1500 to your daily expenses - a waste, IMHO.

enjoy!

[Mogster]

Cheers for the advice guys!

I was thinking of the Sabai inn as a few people here have mentioned it in threads. How far do you think it is from the Walking Street? While I would like to be close to the action, it would also be nice to be away from it if I want to sleep.

Of course if anyone can recommened a decent hotel elsewhere I will be glad to hear it.

I think I need a glossary for some of these abbreviations though. I know what a soapy is and guess GG is Go Go? BB is bars? FL I have no idea.

I actually found some really cheap flights today with Expedia! Around £376 return with Thai Air, which is a bargin. I have saved them and will probably be booking the fights very soon!

Yoff, I am thinking of going between 3-17 June, so maybe we could meet for a beer! Unless we are both too busy!

[rits01]

GG - gogo bars

BB - beer bars (a.k.a bar beers) - usually to be found in "complexes" of 3 - 50, or along "theme" streets, such as soi 7 or 8, with 10-50 girls in each bar (open space).

FL - "free lancers" - girls who either operate outside bars (discos, beach road, shopping centers etc) or have some loose arangement with the BB (comes and goes at her will, no salary, but if finds the guy in the bar - BF is payd).

As to a hotel - take whatever place for the first night or two, and then scout something to fit you. Travel light - all you need for a two week holiday in pattaya, can be placed in one medium bag / suitcase. on you second or third morning, don't check out - leave everything in the room and take a bahtbus or a motorbike taxi around and check some other places.

enjoy!

[yoff6312]

Cheers for the advice guys!
Appropriate snipping here...
I actually found some really cheap flights today with Expedia! Around £376 return with Thai Air, which is a bargin. I have saved them and will probably be booking the fights very soon!

Yoff, I am thinking of going between 3-17 June, so maybe we could meet for a beer! Unless we are both too busy!

Too Busy for a beer, I think not...Impossible for me to be too busy for a Beer.

I'll Be in Pattaya on the eve of the 14th.
Actually be in Thailand on the 2nd but have to go PI on the 6th till my return

A beer it will be..or two or three

[tony999]

Mogster, I stayed at the Sabai Inn last month and it was fine. Not exactly top of the range but I've stayed in worse. It's a long way from Walking street but there's plenty of entertainment 50 meters from the hotel on Soi2/Soi3 corner with 2nd street. There's about 20 beer bars there which will keep you entertained.

It's a long way from Walking Street but a 5 minute taxi ride will fix that.

I was there for 5 days and I only went to Walking st one night...All the rest of the time I spent in the bars a few minutes walk from the hotel.

[Mogster]

Like you Yoff I cant resist the beers. Count me in!

I have now booked my flights so now I just have to wait for June 3 to get here! I Cant wait!!

I have decided on the Sabai Inn as it looks ok from the website and nobody has warned me off of it yet! I don’t mind getting a taxi or bus to Walking Street as the prices should be cheap enough! And hopefully there is decent action nearby anyway!

Btw has anyone ever booked a room at the Sabai Inn through their website? I would prefer to book in advance (I am the paranoid sort that would be terrified that I would end up on the streets ), is their website safe?

Finally thanks for the advice guys! I want this to be one of the best trips I have ever had so am researching it properly before I go.

[yoff6312]

Mogster

Be aware that there are very very few (as you would know them)Taxi's in Pattaya.

That said though, there are a huge number of songthaew's = Baht Bus

With a Baht bus just hop on and get off where you like, Pay ten Baht per person only (though the fair for a local is 5 Baht, if a BG is with you you are also expected to pay 10 Baht for her)

You can read up on them here

http://www.pattaya-at-night.com/news/bahtbus.htm

The other thing I would suggest is getting a map, Many good ones available free from some of the mags that your hotel will likely have such as the Pattaya Trader and other similiar tourist brochures. I have a couple of good maps here on my puter but they are to large to upload. If you want one pm me with you email addy.


Yoff

[Arris Sung]

There are plenty of taxis in Pattaya. They're just not wandering the streets like in BKK but there are always dozens of them in Pattaya at any given time waiting for a fare back to BKK. If you really want a taxi for whatever reason, like if you're changing hotels, tell the bell desk and they'll get it for you. Expect to pay between 80-150bht depending on how far you go within the confines of Pattaya.

[Mogster]

Lol! By my calculations 10bht is around 15p in British money so I don’t think the baht bus is going to break my bank! If only the buses and public transport in Britain were so cheap!

I have also now booked with the Sabai Inn so am all set to go! The Sabai Inn is extremely cheap (by British standards at least!) so getting a decent amount of spending money shouldn’t be too hard now.

A few more questions (sorry I am full of questions )! I read somewhere that you cannot take more than 10,000 bht into Thailand. As that is not a lot of money I guess it is recommended to change money when I get there. Is the airport the best place for this (I will need to change some there in order to pay for a taxi!!) or are there better exchange rates to be found elsewhere?

What’s the score with condoms? I have read on here a few times that the Thai girls tend to not care about using them. Are they easy and cheap to get in Pattaya (the condoms not the girls ) or is it recommended to bring some from home (I mean safety wise are the Thai condoms crap!)?

Finally (for now ) what place do you guys recommend as best place the perfect night out in Pattaya? I am going to go to as many places as I can but would like to have one place in mind for a guaranteed mind blowing experience!

[LittleBigMan]

Mogster,

The amount is $10,000.00 USD. When you pick up your bags and come out of immigration there will be plenty of Money exchange booths. They are pretty much the same. I usually exchange $500.00 USD, which right now should get me somewhere around 19,000-20,000 Baht this should surface for a few days!

When I travel, I usually put my spending money into the checking and I drawn from the ATM machines. Very easy and you get a good exchange rate.

The perfect evening is subjective and would be hard to answer since what makes you happy might not do it for another! For some drinking their ass to the curb is the perfect evening.

Good luck,
LBM

[rits01]

Money - I personaly don't like to carry too much cash. I do bring a few notes of 100, but for the rest I use the ATM. I'd rather loose a few dimes on the rate, then get exposed to the risk of loosing the whole lot (though the risk is merely nominal).

I don't carry more than 2000-3000 BHT in my wallet. some 2,000 more are stashed somewhere in the room. the rest of the money ( + credit card) is in the hotel's safety box (or in the rooms safty box- if there is such). The Idea is not to carry more than you will need (until your nest visit to the ATM) , AND , in case you have spent all of the money on your nightout- in the morning you will still have enough money in the room, to have a nice breakfast for you and whatever lady you brought for the night, and pay the lady - without leaving the room in search for an exchange / ATM.


For ATM, I suggest using the Bank's ATMs, not the "private" ones: there have been some reports of scams when dealing with private ATMs, though again , the risk is very small.

The exchange rate is preety much the same everywhere - there may be some minor differences, but not enough for you to be bothered about. Don't waste your time searching for a changer that will give you 2 bht more for a note of 100 GBP - your time is worth more.

Condoms are sold on every corner, (7-11, minimart , chemist etc) - including Thai-made Durex (many types), which I find OK. the price is around 55-70 bht for a box of 3 (depending on the brand). Note - in Thailand, condoms are not one size but 3- Choose the size that fits you the best. Some people bring their favorite condoms from home - I personaly see no use for it, but to each his own.

The perfect evening is indeed a matter of personal taste. Also, a lot depends on the girl / girls you are with. At first, brobably, you will be changing the girl /girls a few times a day, or at least every day - but parhaps at some point you will find someone you like. If you ask me - once you feel you hit it off with a certain girl, don't be quick to dump her and move to the next just to set a record; stay with her for a while. Many girls, when they are given some time, and once they begin to trust you - "open themselves up". for me, once it happens, it's one of the best experiences a guy can imagine.

Enjoy!